Meowy Christmas

Amazon.ca When George Frederick Handel wrote "Joy to the World," which contains the immortal line "Let heaven and nature sing," he probably didn't mean it literally. But Meowy Christmas takes him at his word as Cheese Puff, Max, Sprocket, Binky, Clara, Cueball, Graymer, Twizzler, Petunia--and the occasional dog--meow and bark and let their animal nature sing 20 (count 'em 20!) holiday favorites. You'll be awestruck, dumbstruck, and struck yet again hearing these felines "sing" and, ah, scat their way through the usual round- up of holiday music, relying on a beat box and different arrangements, including a folkish, harmonica-driven version of the Handel hymn. You're bound to find your own favorites here (while trying to figure out how in the heck mastermind Mike Spalla pulled this off), but you're definitely bound to be roused from your comfort and joy by "What Child Is This/Hava Nagila" that trades kitty meows and doggy barks back and forth in a spirited ecumenical dance of the four-legged. The disc comes with an order form for its own line of Jingle Cats merchandise. --Martin Kelle